Terrible Fates (BEN Drowned story)

Chapter 12

[Okay, the least I can do is revise the grammatical errors in KP because....they need fixin'.]

Stay Creepy, My Friends!~

Chapter 12

Ben's POV

Okay, maybe I jumped the gun a little bit.

'I think I'm in love with him'. Sure, Ben, and while you're at it, tell the whole world that you're such an idiot your IQ drops into the Earth's center, because you might as well exaggerate to the fullest.

I'm in love with Reese. I can't be. I don't want to be.

He's seventeen; still young, still has so many opportunities ahead of him that will give him a better life, with better things to do than spend time with me. You have no business with him, Ben. Your worlds are different.

It's only been a few weeks, too, like, what the fuck..?

At first, I only gave him harmless flirting. It never meant anything. I mean, he's handsome, and witty, and down-to-earth, and I recognized that--nothing more. Just harmless flirting. Just harmless admiring. All of it was harmless. But then he had to go and make me feel things...!

Earlier, he hugged me like we hadn't seen each other in forever. He caressed my face, messed with my ears, stared into my eyes and held my hands. The things he told me about not leaving him, he sounded sincere through and through. I tried so hard not to let him get to me, but every little thing he did was hard to forget. Giving me his hoodie; giving me cake, teaching me how to ride a penny board, grabbing onto me, smiling at me, laughing with me, teasing me, sharing his troubles with me. Everything he did was nice, and he's such a good kid who doesn't deserve any pain.

You can't call it love. Maybe it's a crush. Crushes are easy to get over, especially now that you've screwed up your friendship with Reese.

It's a crush. Not love. Never love. Don't ever fall in love again, because it won't last for you. You can daydream; you can long for, you can admire, but never love.

You've given up already. Let Reese go. No matter how much that empty feeling hurts you inside, just let it be. It's not like it'll go away anyway. It'll come back. It always does.

Let Reese go. Let him live a good life. Let him live. Even if you can't do the same.

...

Reese's POV

The studio room echoed with the sounds I made when slamming my fists against the punching bag. It was Friday, my last day of school suspension this week. I decided to come to Artem's shop while he was on his lunch break and snuck into the training room with my spare key. It's nice to just be alone, listening to the rattling of the punching bag's chains and the loud smacks of every hit I made. My mind was empty like I wanted it. No thoughts whatsoever. Just keep punching and don't think.

Suddenly, over the sounds of my fists hitting the punching bag, a light Russian accent piped up, "What have I told you about using the training room without my permission?"

I didn't even glance at Artem, though I could see him walking closer from the corner of my vision. He stood a few feet to my left, arms crossed, eyeing me intently as I kept jabbing the punching bag with reckless abandon.

The Russian brunet sighed and commented casually, "Your form is off." It was then that I stopped and watched the punching bag sway gently in front of me. Artem sat down on the floor, his legs crossed, his demeanor radiating calmness instead of annoyance.